Leadership group planning Volunteer Fair for April 10

National Volunteer Week is coming up in early April, and close to home, it will kick off Friday, April 10 in Nanaimo with a Volunteer Fair from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Woodgrove Centre.

The Volunteer Fair is being organized by a group from Leadership Vancouver Island (LVI), in partnership with Volunteer Nanaimo. The fair will host more than 30 local not-for-profit organizations whose programs are dependent on volunteers and allow people who are interested in volunteering to browse and learn about different organizations in need of volunteer support.

“We’re excited to bring together people who are already volunteering or would like to volunteer but don’t know where to start,” Colin Pickell, a member of the LVI group from Ladysmith, said in a press release. “Many people know about the larger organizations that rely on volunteers, but there are many other groups who may be smaller or less visible but provide a needed service to the community.”

The LVI group is working with Volunteer Nanaimo to feature a broad range of organizations targeting a cross-section of interests, including groups from Ladysmith. Each organization will have information about themselves and their need for volunteers and will be prepared to sign people up on the spot.

In addition to the one-day event, the group from LVI will be turning this into a legacy project for the area and designing the fair with future events in mind.

“We want to be able to pass off the logistics of this event to future groups or organizations so Nanaimo and the surrounding communities can access volunteers in the years to come,” said Pickell.

Anyone who wants more information about the fair can visit the event’s Facebook page, “Nanaimo Volunteer Fair,” e-mail nvfair@gmail.com or contact Volunteer Nanaimo at 250-758-7121 or vn@volunteernanaimo.ca.